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Penny Johnson Jerald
Penny Johnson Jerald is an American actress who portrays Claire Finn on ''The Orville''. Background Johnson is an acclaimed actress who is known for her roles such as that of Kasidy Yates-Sisko in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, wife of Benjamin Sisko and as Sherry Palmer, the villainous wife of President David Palmer on 24. Jerald also appeared on Castle as Captain Victoria Gates. The Orville On October 31, 2016, Penny Johnson Jerald and Halston Sage were cast as series regulars in The Orville. Jerald later recalled her first meeting with creator Seth MacFarlane: When I first met with Seth and he was describing Dr. Finn, I marveled at the fact that he had been watching my career all along. So, I was pleasantly surprised. It felt pretty good! He described Claire Finn as having the guts of Beverly from “The Larry Sanders Show.” And he had just finished binge watching “24” so he mentioned the solidity of Sherry Palmer. I thought, “Okay…Alright…Let’s do that.”"Penny Johnson Jerald – The Orville". starrymag. Jan. 3, 2019. After filming of Old Wounds concluded, Jerald decided that she wants The Orville to be her last ensemble cast television show. "I saw the pilot, I looked at cast and I said 'okay, great. This is my ‘Swan Song'.' And they looked at me and said 'what do you mean? This is over?' and I said 'No, this is the show I’m going to keep doing until I don’t want to do this anymore.'"DesJardines, Jordan. "NYCC 2017: What’s Up Doc? Penny Johnson Jerald Talks ‘The Orville’". ScienceFiction.com. Oct. 13, 2017. When Jerald first gets an episode's script, she first "turns back all the pages" that refer to her character or introduce a technical term.Amodio, Joseph V. "Penny Johnson Jerald talks 'The Orville,' 'Star Trek,' more". Newsday. Dec. 19, 2018. While filming on set, Jerald says she maintains an upbeat, optimistic attitude: "I come in dancing every day. . . . because I know that I'm going to be there all night long." Jerald continues that the set has a shared, communal bed that anyone may sleep on, which the cast calls the "family bed.""Brannon Braga & The Orville Cast Full interview 2017 Panel NYC convention". NYC ComicCon. Nov. 20, 2017. By Season 2, Jerald began calling it her "morning dance-off."Sisk, Angela. "The Orville Panel Comic Con 2018 Part One". YouTube. July 22, 2018. Reaction to critics The sharp divide in opinion between critics and regular television audiences, where critics often rate the show poorly while audiences rate it highly, is not lost upon Jerald. Shortly after The Orville was renewed for a second season, Jerald responded to critics who complained that the show does not know whether it wants to be a comedy or a drama. "The dialogue critics when we first started was, 'Oh, my gosh. What do they think they are?' It's a dramedy, and what we we need to do is teach the audience how to watch us." Her comments grew more acute as time went on. " We were advertised as this sci-fi comedy ... and we truly weren't. We're a dramedy. So last year spent trying to find the proper balance of the funny and the drama. This year, we've found it."Amodio, Joseph V. "Penny Johnson Jerald talks 'The Orville,' 'Star Trek,' more". Newsday. Dec. 19, 2018. Musical episode pitch While details are scant, sometime during Season 1 or, more likely, Season 2, Jerald pitched an idea for a musical episode to MacFarlane while the two were on set: a planet where no one can speak except musically.Sun - Main Stage | NYCC 2019 | SYFY WIRE. SyFy Wire. Oct. 6, 2019. Trivia * Jerald says that portraying a mother-character in the show comes naturally to her because she is a mother as well."Episode123 - LIVE from the Paley Fest Blue Carpet feat. The Orville & Mom casts". On the Mic with Tim Drake. March 27, 2018. ** She is protective of the child actors who portray her kids: Kai Wener and BJ Tanner. "I become this mother hen. I protect them behind the scenes, and then when we’re on-camera, I feel like they’re my kids. And then I have to be reminded I have to give them back to their parents, because their parents are always there."Mitovich, Matt Webb. "The Orville's Penny Johnson Jerald: Season 2 Has 'More Sex,' Braves Places 'We Thought Could Be Borderline'". TVLine. Dec. 27, 2018. ** Knowing Jerald loves to dance each morning, Wener and Tanner taught her various dances from the video game Fortnite."The Orville Official Fan Podcast w/ Kai Wener and Jon Cassar (32)". Planetary Union Network. Feb. 23, 2019. * As a practicing Christian, Jerald has commented that the opportunity to portray Claire is a chance to be a "light in the room."Video by The Paley Center for Media. March 17, 2018. * She says her time on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine ''taught her to stick closely to the script "to give honor" to the writers of The Orville.Amodio, Joseph V. "Penny Johnson Jerald talks 'The Orville,' 'Star Trek,' more". ''Newsday. Dec. 19, 2018. ** She later said she became a "Trekkie" (a fan of Star Trek) while acting on Deep Space Nine, and her new passion led her to joining The Orville.Snowden, Scott. "The Orville, cast interview – Penny Johnson Jerald (Dr Claire Finn)". MYMBuzz. Jan. 8, 2019. * The greatest challenge of acting on The Orville is the "physicality" of the action scenes: "I think when these things are written, Seth is believing that we are in tiptop physical shape, so he can like for us to run forever...."Snowden, Scott. "The Orville, cast interview – Penny Johnson Jerald (Dr Claire Finn)". MYMBuzz. Jan. 8, 2019. * If she could, she would trade places with co-star Mark Jackson to act as Isaac because she wants the challenge.Snowden, Scott. "The Orville, cast interview – Penny Johnson Jerald (Dr Claire Finn)". MYMBuzz. Jan. 8, 2019. * Her favorite episode is ''Into the Fold''.Sun - Main Stage | NYCC 2019 | SYFY WIRE. SyFy Wire. Oct. 6, 2019. Interviews * December 2018: Newsday, TVLine * January 2019: starrymag, MYMBuzz See also * ''The World of the Orville'', page 42 References Category:Cast Category:Main Cast